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 I'm not retiring this year, says Judoka Arik Ze’evi
Israeli Olympic team holds press conference to sum up performance in Game's first week. Some athletes let us down, says committee's chair, 'but these things happen.' Judoka Ze’evi refutes rumors of impending retirement, says eying next world championship
Miki Sagui, Beijing
The heads of the Israeli Olympic Committee held a press conference in Beijing Sunday to summarize the athletes' performance so far and to bid farewell to those have finished their Olympic stint and are scheduled to fly home.
"It's not exactly a secret that we haven't achieved anything yet," said Zvi Varshaviack, Chairman of the Israeli Olympic Committee. "We wanted our athletes to reach their maximum when it counts the most, and in some cases we were able to get it and in some we didn’t. But we still have some hope.
"Yes, some of the athletes let us down," he continued, "but these things happen. We're just sorry they experienced their 'off-day' during the games."
Marksmen Doron Egozi and Gil Simkovich (Photo: Miki Sagui)
Efraim Zinger, director- general of the Olympic Committee, tried to fend off some of the criticism about the team's performance: "Everyone we have here is the best Israel has in their respective fields. Everyone here has earned the right to be here. They've given it their all, even if the end result isn’t what we were hoping for. We'll draw whatever conclusions necessary after the torch is put out."
First to address the reporters was runner Itay Magidi, who ran his Men's 3,000-meter steeplechase race Saturday while nursing an injury and came in second-from-last: "This was supposed to be the pinnacle of my career and instead it’s such a disappointment…I ran the race because I thought quitting would be a much bigger disgrace."
Swimmers Anya Gostmelsky and Guy Barnea (Photo: Miki Sagui)
Marksmen Guy Starik, Doron Egozi and Gil Simkovich then took the stage. "This is my first Olympics and I guess I'm not the best yet, but I'll keep trying," said Simkovich. "This sounds like a cliché, but I gave it my all," added Egozi.
Then came Arik Ze’evi's turn.
The judoka, who won the bronze medal in the Athens Olympics in 2004 and was one of the leading favorites for a medal, took the stage with an unmistakable expression: "Everyone has been talking about me possibly retiring, so I'll say in again: I'm not going anywhere in the coming year. I've lost two world championships to injuries and I'm not going to quit before I have a go at one more."
As for his chances to compete in the London Olympics in 2012, Ze'evi was reserved: "We'll have to see how I feel by then. If I'm good enough I'll go for it. If not – I'll pack my bags and go… this was probably my worst competition ever, but I've had my share of bad runs. I'm strong. I'll snap out of it and try to get my act together for the world championships."
Ze'evi's trainer, Avi Ashkenazi reiterated: "There's no sense talking about retirement over one bad match... in judo, you qualify for the Olympics based on your performance in the entire season before – 13 meets. So why decide anything now?"
And then it was time for some collective satisfaction, as the swim team, which set 11 new national records and swam in four semi-finals, took the stage. Tom Beeri, the team's captain credited fellow swimmer Alon Mandel for
staying in the games despite his personal tragedy: "He has been everyone's hero, acting absolutely admirably. It was one of the things that drove us to do so well."
As for the team's accomplishments, Beeri was very optimistic: "Anyone who knows swimming knows Israel is well on its way to becoming a swimming super-power."
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